


love and green tea pastries

by taykash



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, Genderbending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-21
Updated: 2016-10-21
Packaged: 2018-08-23 18:00:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8337400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taykash/pseuds/taykash
Summary: Aiba attempts to woo Jun.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Jun's birthday, 2012.

"I'm in love," Aiba breathes out as he collapses in the ratty armchair in the apartment he shares with Nino. The armchair is ancient and had been well-eaten by a previous owner’s dog, but Aiba loved the faded 1970s psychedelic upholstery and Nino loved the thousand yen price tag.

"You're in love every day," Nino remarks from his prone position on the floor, elbows propped up on a mushroom pillow as he controls soccer players on screen, their little pixelated bodies running back and forth on a field of green.

"This time I really am," Aiba insists, fingers tugging through his wind-tangled hair. "Jun is _beautiful_."

"Does Jun know you exist?" Nino's tone is dry; Aiba pouts at the fact that Nino _doubts_ him."

"Not yet," Aiba replies confidently.  
\-----

Aiba gets to class early the next day, carefully choosing a seat near the front. Jun tends to sit in the front of the class near the windows if possible, and Aiba is determined to be as close he can be in order to make conversation for the first time. 

Jun strides into class and all Aiba can hear is the blood rushing in his ears. He wonders if he’s turning red, and presses his palm to his face to check; he realizes he’s pressing a little too hard when Jun gives him a weird look.

“Good morning!” he greets, nervousness making him too loud as Jun turns to choose a desk diagonal from his.

Jun turns and tucks a stray lock of shiny black hair behind her ear. “Good morning,” she replies politely. Her nails click gently against the desk as she set her books and pencil case down. Aiba likes the way her pencil skirt has a small flap in the back, the way her calves curve outward then inward to the ankle resting above her sensibly fashionable (fashionably sensible? Aiba will figure that out later) heels.

Aiba leans over, prepared to ask her a question – he hasn’t yet figured out what – when the professor walks in. “Place your papers on the corner of my desk face up,” he instructs as he unpacks his bag by the podium. The class becomes a flurry of whispers and rustling papers, but Jun pulls out a clearfile with a neatly stapled paper inside and even from his angle Aiba can tell that it is formatted perfectly to MLA guidelines in such a way that Aiba could never manage to do.

Aiba is sure he’s going to marry her.

Aiba watches her instead of paying attention to the lecture, half-convinced he's being creepy, but who really needs History of Fashion 101? Aiba is only taking it because he has to fill his history requirement and he woke up late the day of class scheduling.

Jun is smart and capable, answering questions with a voice deeper than Aiba would have guessed she had. It's a nice voice, not so deep that she would be mistaken for a man, but with a musical quality that Aiba likes. Aiba wonders what her laugh sounds like.

At the end of class, Aiba shoves everything haphazardly into his bag and jumps to be next to Jun's desk before she's finished packing up. "D'you want to get lunch?" he blurts out, smile as bright as he can make it.

"I have class," she replies and even though her tone is apologetic Aiba droops anyway. "I'm free after 1 tomorrow, though," she adds. Aiba isn't, but he could miss one chemistry class. It wasn’t even lab.

"See you then!" his voice is a cheer. 

\-----

The next day, Jun's bento is meticulously hand-packed and Aiba feels a little jealous when he looks at his cafeteria curry. "Your mom looks like a great cook," he offers, "the panda onigiri are really cute."

"Oh," Jun says, "I make my bento myself."

Aiba wonders if it would be too much if he asked her to marry him before they've gone on an actual date. 

Lunch is pleasant but it feels like it goes by too quickly, a blink of Jun's perfectly mascara'd lashes and Aiba is dismissed.

"Tomorrow?" Aiba tries, possibly a little desperately.

"Sorry," Jun apologizes and it sounds sincere, "I have plans to meet my senpai. But I'll see you in class."

Aiba will take it.

\-----

"She sounds cute," Ohno says that night in their apartment, chewing on dried squid Nino popped into his mouth not a moment earlier.

"She's the cutest," Aiba says confidently, his chemistry lab work spread out on the table though he isn’t looking at it.

"If he says that she's probably a dog," Nino cracks, draping himself across Ohno's lap with DS in hand. "What have we told you about finding stray dogs?"

"You're not invited to the wedding, Nino," Aiba sulks, "Oh-chan will come alone and I'll find him a new boyfriend."

"It's okay, Nino-chan, no one could play video games on my lap like you," Ohno says loyally. Aiba throws a pen at them.

"Really though, Aiba-chan," Nino starts and Aiba squirms at the serious look on his face, "if you really like her, hold yourself back a little."

Aiba sticks his bottom lip out a little, his nails worrying at the seat of the couch. Ohno doesn't say anything, just sucks on the squid audibly, but his eyes are kind.

"You get too excited and scare them away, you know that." Nino's words are harsh but his tone is softer than usual, and Aiba doesn't know whether to be hurt or comforted. He settles for staring at the balancing equations worksheet in front of him, homework that he had turned in last month. He'd gotten an A on it.

Nino huffs. "Just take care with this one." Aiba nods.

Aiba promptly forgets everything Nino said when he sees Jun walking a little too close to a guy that most certainly _isn't_ Aiba. He's half a head taller than Jun, in a button-down shirt that fits him like it was bespoke. Aiba purses his lips together in irritation.

Clearly it is time to formulate a plan.

"Aiba, if she has a boyfriend, that means you back off," Nino says in his most measured, patient tone that evening, before barking, "no, Yoshi! Go LEFT, you idiotic piece of walking fossil fuel!"

"I don't think she'd date him though, he looked too..." Aiba trails off, trying to find a reasonable excuse. He didn’t want to admit it, but they had looked perfect together. 

"Anyway, it's worth a try," he finishes confidently. 

Nino shrugs. "It's your funeral," he says, then yells, "MARIO NO!"

Aiba leaves the room, humming along to the Game Over music.

\-----

HOW AIBA MASAKI WILL WIN MATSUMOTO JUN'S HEART: PLAN A  
1) Be really smart in class!! Note: find glasses. Maybe wear ponytail? Test look in mirror!  
2) Take her somewhere fancy. (Ask mom for money.)  
3) Triumph over Nerd Guy!!

\-----

“Where are you going?” Nino asked sleepily from his spot on the floor in a pile of blankets the next morning. “What’s with your hair?”

“I’m going to class,” Aiba flushed, his tone defensive. “Did you sleep there again? You’re going to catch a cold, Nino!”

“Whatever, I don’t have class today, and I beat _Zombies vs Basketball Players V_.” Nino stood up, shivering in his tank top and boxers. “Are those _glasses_?”

Aiba rubbed his eyes. “I’ve been squinting a lot lately.”

“There are no lenses in those frames,” Nino says flatly, then shrugs, scratching his left calf with his right foot. “Don’t burn down the chemistry lab.”

Aiba pokes his tongue out at Nino with a distasteful nose scrunch before leaving the apartment.

\-----

“Nice hair,” Jun says with a smile as she slides into her seat. Aiba beams, then leans forward on his desk, tilting it at an alarming angle.

“Hey, Jun,” Aiba says quickly as the door slides open to reveal the professor, “lunch today?”

Jun glances back and nods. Aiba pushes his glasses up on his face and doesn’t stop smiling all through class.

\-----

The rice in Jun’s bento is shaped into a cat.

“Are you busy on Saturday?” Aiba tries, the cutlet slice held between his chopsticks dripping tonkatsu sauce onto his salad.

“I’m busy in the evening, but I’m free in the afternoon,” Jun tilts her head, daintily choosing a star-shaped carrot piece. “Why?”

“Do you…” Aiba swallows. No time like the present! “Want to go somewhere on Saturday?”

Jun tilts her head, tapping her chopsticks against her bottom lip. Aiba likes the gloss on her lips, wonders if it tastes like something sweet. Would the taste mix with the taste of her lunch, carrots and tomatoes and a hint of pineapple flavored lip gloss? "As long as I'm home by five, sure," she finally says, and Aiba has to stop himself from running a victory lap.

"Okay," Aiba tries to breathe through his happiness. He files away the panic of finding someplace to go for later that night, when he can make Nino help.

\-----

Aiba is very pleased he decided to leave much earlier than necessary, as it gives him the time to change after Nino takes one look at him in his suit and laughs until he cried.

"I just want to look nice," Aiba tries to defend himself.

"It's noon on a sunny day in early September, Aiba-chan," Ohno says kindly over Nino's howls of hysterics, "and you're in a black wool suit."

So instead Aiba wipes his sweaty palms against his dark jeans as he waits outside Tokyo Skytree Station, hoping his dark green v-neck would be fine. He even accessorized - he had tucked a stole into his back pocket. That was fashionable, right?

"Sorry to make you wait," Jun calls, breaking Aiba out of his reverie, and Aiba feels dressed-down. Her dress is dark grey with a thin black grid laid over it, the neckline a v-neck to match his. Aiba can see a hint of cleavage and has to tear his eyes away. Her necklace is a thin gold chain falling to her waist, her bracelet matching, and Aiba wonders if her nails were painted such a bright shade of pink before. In her heels, she's almost his height, and Aiba almost forgets to respond for staring.

"Hi," he manages, grinning at her when she raises her eyebrows at him, "your dress is nice."

She smoothes the skirt against her legs, the hem falling just above her knees. "Nice t-shirt," she shoots back, then looks up and up at Tokyo Skytree behind her large sunglasses. Aiba wishes he could see her eyes.

"Have you been?" Aiba throws a hand up towards Skytree. "I haven't yet," he confesses, "I want to see if I can see my apartment. Or my house! It's in Chiba."

Jun snorts at that, her head still tilted up to look at the tower. Aiba focuses on the mole under her lip and hopes she doesn't notice.

"Oh, yes, I came here shopping with Sakurai-senpai." Aiba droops a little, but Jun continues, "But I haven't gone to any observation decks."

"Sakurai-senpai?" Aiba wonders, his hands in his pockets. "Ah! Sakurai Yoko? She was in my biology class last year."

"What? No, Sakurai Sho-senpai. We went to high school together."

Aiba tries very hard to keep his heart from sinking into the ground through his feet. "Oh...well, we should go up since you have to leave by five," he stumbles over his words, "I already have tickets so we can go straight up."

"Nice planning," she says with a smile, and at the slight flash of her teeth Aiba stands up straighter and vows to not lose to this Sho guy. 

\-----

They ride the glass elevator up to the tallest observation deck, a full 200 meters higher than the Special Observatory deck on Tokyo Tower. They’re not alone in the elevator, so they stay quiet as the floors flash by, the sun catching on Jun’s jewelry.

“I’ve never been so high up before,” she comments when they filter out onto the deck. It’s Saturday, so it’s crowded, but they find a nice spot to look out over the city.

“Rainbow Bridge looks so little,” Aiba says, pointing at it. “Like a toy bridge I used to play with when I was little. Gojira would come in and kick it down and Anpanman would come in to save the day.”

Jun smiles at that, her fingers against the glass. “I liked Legos. I usually built castles though, no bridge sets.”

Aiba squints towards the south. “We can’t see Matsumoto castle, but we can see Mt. Fuji?” Jun laughs, and it is only then that Aiba remembers her last name with a feeble grin.

“I would like to come here at night,” Jun murmurs as they walk along the circular deck, looking over all of Tokyo. “It must be beautiful.”

Aiba gulps. “We can come here, if you’d like?” he tries, and he hopes his smile is less nervous than he feels. 

Jun turns to him and smiles. “I’d like that,” she replies, and in his pocket, Aiba makes a fist of triumph.

He takes her downstairs and into the Sky Town to Kyohayashiya, feeling anxious as they get seated at the traditional Japanese sweets café. “Do you like matcha?” Aiba asks, wincing. “I should have asked, huh…”

“I like matcha,” Jun assures him, her eyes perusing the menu. “I actually prefer Japanese sweets. My grandmother used to make them at home. She studied tea ceremony so she used me as her guinea pig.”

“That sounds great,” Aiba can feel the corners of his eyes crinkling with his smile. “My mom just microwaved leftovers from the restaurant when she was tired.”

“Restaurant?” Jun traces the characters for “Kyohayashiya” on the cover of the menu with a fingertip, the bracelet on her wrist catching the light with every movement.

“Ah…my parents own a Chinese restaurant in Chiba. It’s easy to get to, the station’s nearby. The food’s really great, and I’m not just saying that because it’s ours,” Aiba giggles, “I’d love it if you came by to try something.”

“Maybe I will,” Jun muses, and Aiba stares at his own menu to mask the butterflies flittering around his insides.

They part at the station, taking different trains on different platforms. “Today was fun,” Jun says, touching Aiba’s hand gently as her train noisily pulls into the station. “Thank you for a nice day.”

Aiba can feel his cheeks turn pink, but he beams at her anyway. “Let’s do it again!”

Jun jumps onto her train and waves to Aiba as it pulls away. He watches it go before he sends Nino a text full of obnoxious emoticons meaning happiness.

\-----

The giddiness propelling Aiba fades the next day when he walks onto campus and spots Jun on the road just ahead, walking next to Nerd Guy. It was probably that Sakurai guy she mentioned, that Sakurai Sho. Okay, fine, _objectively_ Aiba could admit that he was probably attractive to girls, but the guy looked like a chipmunk to the point that it was distracting. Aiba stared at the back of Sakurai's head as though boring holes into it. His newscaster haircut was stupid.

"Aiba," Nino fell into step with him with a heavy sigh, "you can't murder someone with your eyes."

"My mother always told me if I tried hard enough I can do anything," Aiba replies stubbornly, his eyes still locked on Sakurai's skull.

"Your mother also used to hang you upside down off your balcony if you misbehaved, are you sure you want to take her advice?" Nino rolls his eyes. "You should just _ask_ if she has a boyfriend so she can say yes and you can move on with your life."

"If she did she would've mentioned it on Saturday," Aiba said defensively, his lips pushing out into a pout. "It was date-y enough...I think. And she said she wanted me to take her to Skytree at night! Have you been there yet, Nino? It's like Tokyo Tower times ten."

"Whatever, Casanova, I have a math test to get to,” Nino mimed shooting himself in the head with two fingers. “Don’t bother wishing me luck because I don’t need it, but let’s hope I get out with enough time to finish beating this Zelda boss before my next class.”

\-----

HOW AIBA MASAKI WILL WIN MATSUMOTO JUN'S HEART: PLAN A  
1) Be really smart in class!! ~~Note: find glasses. Maybe wear ponytail? Test look in mirror!~~  
 ~~2) Take her somewhere fancy. (Ask mom for money.)~~  
3) Triumph over Nerd Guy!!

\-----

Aiba is much more of a science person than a history person; he’s a physical chemistry major for a _reason_. (Because he can blow stuff up and not get into trouble for it, mostly.) But for Jun, Aiba needs to learn this fashion history stuff and fast.

“Did you know those short puffy pants Shakespeare wore were called pantaloons? Like what we call the really wide pants from the 1970s? Isn’t that really confusing?” Aiba is ostensibly speaking to Nino and Ohno, but his eyes are trained on the textbook in front of him, drawings of Elizabethan clothes gracing the page.

“I’ll be really glad when the class ends or he gets over her,” Nino says fervently to Ohno, who simply tightens his arm around Nino’s waist with a smile.

“Doublet,” Aiba sounds out, “da-bu-re-tto. Remembering how to spell these things is going to be so hard,” he whines, and Nino turns around in Ohno’s lap to stare.

“Aiba, you come home excited and yelling about quantum chemistry in words I’ve never even heard before, but you can’t remember how to spell _doublet_?” Nino shakes his head, his eyes closing with a sigh.

“Miracle boy,” Ohno says fondly, and Aiba beams at him before turning the page.

\-----

“You know this stuff, don’t you,” Jun says amusedly after class the next day. “You’re the only one answering most of the questions.”

“I’m more of a science person,” Aiba says honestly, “so I have to study harder for things like history and Japanese. By the way, what are you majoring in?”

Jun looks at him, her head tilted. “I’m a fashion design major. I think most people in this class are.” Aiba flushes a little, but she smiles at his embarrassment so he beams at her anyway.

“I’m physical chemistry. I’m trying to get most of my requirements out of the way because junior and senior years are going to be mostly really fun labs,” Aiba explains as he pulls on his backpack. Jun carries her stuff in a fashionable purse slung over one arm, and it is so large Aiba is fairly sure she could carry small animals in it without notice.

“Really fun or really tough?” Jun questions. The bracelet on her wrist – silver, this time, with little diamonds – glitters when it catches the sun from passing windows, creating facets of light on the surrounding walls.

“Both?” Aiba laughs, “I’ll get to make a lot of stuff explode, anyway.”

Jun rolls her eyes, but Aiba sees the way her nose crinkles with amusement and he feels so warm.

\-----

One day they are having lunch, Aiba exclaiming over her bento animal (in the shape of turtles, today, furikake making designs on the shell) when the chair next to him is pulled out. Aiba looks up, startled, to see Nerd Guy. “Mind if I sit here?” he says with a friendly smile, and Aiba really wants to say no, but Jun smiles and says yes.

Aiba pokes at his hamburger and rice. Nerd Guy has a bowl of ramen, and he’s rolling up his sleeves as he greets Jun.

“I’m Sakurai Sho,” he says to Aiba, his smile bright. Aiba can’t stop staring at his front teeth – the man is a _rodent_. Aiba doesn’t think his own looks are all that great but he can’t think of an animal that he physically resembles and for that he already wins. 

“Aiba Masaki,” he mumbles, making lines in the sauce on his hamburger with his fork.

“Aiba-kun’s in my fashion history class, senpai, he’s the one I told you about,” Jun says, and Aiba looks up, startled. 

“You told him about me?” he asks, and his heart is thudding in his chest. He squeezes his knees together and he knows he should bite his lip to fight the smile spreading across his face but he can already feel the spread of his cheeks as he grins and grins.

“Oh! Skytree boy?” Nerd Guy – Sakurai – laughs, and Jun flicks rice in his face.

Aiba ducks his head, food abandoned, before he looks up so quickly it makes Sakurai jump. “Wait – are you…?” he gestures to the two of them, hand trembling a little. Aiba is an eternal spring of hope, but when a mission is futile he would rather recognize it – his hope is infinite, after all, but requires a bit of bolstering in the face of extreme adversity.

But Aiba doesn’t have to bolster, because Jun squawks with the least dignity Aiba has ever seen from her and he can’t help but giggle as she flusters, “No! What? No! He’s just my senpai! No, he’s dating Naka-senpai…”

Sakurai is laughing too, and Aiba thinks it suits him. He has a nice, honest face and Aiba feels a little bad for thinking he looked like a rodent.

“I’m sure Riisa-chan loves those rumors,” he says teasingly, but his voice is gentle and it’s directed at Jun anyway; she buries her face in her hands.

“Freshman year of high school I _did_ have a crush on Sakurai-senpai,” she explains to Aiba, who is trying to pay attention but it’s hard when all he wants to do is kiss the pink of her cheeks, “but he was a junior and busy and anyway, he and Naka-senpai have been together since they were born, I think.”

Sakurai rolls his eyes but he doesn’t deny it. Aiba tries to take a bite of his hamburger and gets sauce all over his pants because his hands are shaking. It doesn’t ruin his good mood.

\-----

Aiba takes Jun to Yokohama that weekend, and though he has never said that it was a date he is sure that she knows. Their hips bump as they walk along the waterfront, river starred with reflections of the neon lights surrounding them. Jun’s dress is green tonight, subtle glitter in the fabric picking up the light around them and making her shine. Aiba thinks she is more beautiful than the water, than the city, and wonders if he can say that.

“I don’t really go to Yokohama,” Jun admits, “so it’s nice to just walk around and look. Sakurai-senpai likes it here a lot, though.”

“I like the Ferris wheel,” Aiba tilts his head, the flashing lights of the Ferris wheel sliding over his face, “I’ve never seen the same pattern twice, I think.”

“Maybe you’re just not looking hard enough,” Jun says, and Aiba gives in and slides his hand over hers. He can’t think of a witty reply because his heart is in his throat, but she links her fingers through his without a word and Aiba is flying.

“Maybe,” he stammers, and when he looks at her her smile is so, so large.


End file.
